Technology Studies and the Sociological Debate on Monitoring of Social Interactions

Abstract

The article reviews methodological perspectives adopted in the analysis of social implications of scientific and technical developments and in particular the current sociological debate involving monitoring technologies and social research. A particular attention is devoted to social network analysis, an emergent area of sociological research that focuses on the relational implications of technologies in organizations, small groups and other contexts of social participation. Using case studies and examples of technologies implementation, the article describes the advancements in this field of enquiry and highlights the main elements of the structure of interactions in virtual and technology mediated communications. It also pays attention to the implications of human interaction monitoring technologies such as video surveillance and GPS tracking, and the public role that sociological research can have in advancing ethical and organizational issues related with their adoption.